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The Little Mermaid (2026 film)
'' The Little Mermaid'' is a 2026 American computer-animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Owen Laramore Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The eighteenth theatrical Owen Laramore film and a CGI remake of Disney's 1989 traditionally-animated film of the same name, the film was directed by Jun Falkenstein, and stars Jodi Benson reprising her original role of Ariel, with Greg Cipes, Mr. T, Chris Pine, Tiffany Haddish, Bill Hader, John Carroll Lynch providing the new voices of Flounder, Sebastian, Prince Eric, Ursula, Scuttle, and King Triton, respectively. Original composer Alan Menken returned to compose the music. The Little Mermaid premiered in Atlantic City on November 20, 2026, and went into general release across the United States on November 25, to generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice acting, and faithfulness to the source material. It was also commercially successful, having to have grossed $159 million worldwide on a $53 million budget. The Little Mermaid received an Annie Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics' Choice Award, Flamingo Award, Saturn Award, and Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Plot Ariel is a 16-year-old mermaid princess in the Kingdom of Atlantica, in the Atlantic Ocean. She is fascinated by the human world above. With her best friend Flounder, Ariel collects human artifacts in her grotto and often goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle, a seagull who offers inaccurate knowledge of human culture. She ignores the warnings of her father, King Triton, the ruler of Atlantica, and Sebastian, a crab who serves as Triton's advisor and court composer, that contact with humans is forbidden. One night, Ariel, Flounder, and an unwilling Sebastian travel to the surface to watch a celebration for Prince Eric's birthday on a ship. Ariel instantly falls in love with Eric. Shortly afterward, a violent storm arrives, which wrecks the ship and tosses Eric overboard. Ariel rescues him and brings him to shore. She sings to him but leaves just as he regains consciousness to avoid being discovered. Fascinated by the memory of her voice, Eric vows to find the girl who saved and sang to him; Ariel vows to find a way to join him in his world. Noticing a change in Ariel's behavior, Triton questions Sebastian and learns of her love her Eric. Triton confronts Ariel in her grotto and destroys the artifacts she collected with his trident. After Triton leaves, two eels named Flotsam and Jetsam convince Ariel to visit Ursula the sea witch. Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days in exchange for Ariel's voice, which Ursula puts in a nautilus shell. Within these three days, Ariel must receive the "kiss of true love" from Eric to remain a human permanently. Otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid and belong to Ursula. Ariel accepts and is given human legs and taken to the surface by Flounder and Sebastian. Unbeknownst to Ariel, Ursula, who harbors a secret vendetta against King Triton, plans to use her as a bargaining chip and take over the kingdom. Eric finds Ariel on the beach and takes her to the castle, unaware that she is the one who had rescued him earlier. Ariel spends time with Eric, and at the end of the second day, they almost kiss but are thwarted by Flotsam and Jetsam. Angered by Ariel's near success, Ursula disguises herself as a beautiful young woman named Vanessa and appears onshore singing with Ariel's voice. Eric recognizes the song, and, in her disguise, Ursula casts a hypnotic enchantment on Eric to make him forget about Ariel. The next day, Ariel discovers that Eric will be married to Vanessa. Scuttle discovers Vanessa's true identity and informs Ariel, who immediately pursues the wedding barge. While Sebastian informs Triton, Scuttle disrupts the wedding with the help of various sea animals, which breaks the nautilus shell around Ursula's neck. This restores Ariel's voice and breaks Ursula's enchantment over Eric. Realizing that Ariel is the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but the sun sets, and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Ursula then kidnaps Ariel. Triton confronts Ursula and demands Ariel's release. However, because the deal is inviolable, Triton agrees to take Ariel's place as Ursula's prisoner, giving up his trident. Ariel is released as Triton transforms into a polyp and loses his authority over Atlantica. Ursula declares herself the new ruler, but before she can use the trident, Eric intervenes with a harpoon. Ursula attempts to kill Eric, but Ariel intervenes and causes Ursula to inadvertently kill Flotsam and Jetsam. Ursula uses the trident to grow to an enormous size. Ariel and Eric reunite on the surface just before Ursula grows past and towers over them. She then gains full control of the entire ocean, creating a storm and bringing sunken ship to the surface. As Ursula is about to destroy Ariel with the trident, Eric steers a wrecked ship towards Ursula, impaling her with its splintered bowsprit and killing her. With Ursula dead, Triton and the other polyps in Ursula's garden revert to their original forms. Realizing that Ariel loves Eric, Triton changes her from a mermaid into a human permanently and approves her marriage to Eric. Ariel and Eric marry on a ship and depart. Cast * Jodi Benson as Ariel * Greg Cipes as Flounder * Mr. T as Sebastian * Chris Pine as Prince Eric * Tiffany Haddish as Ursula * Bill Hader as Scuttle * John Carroll Lynch as King Triton * Dee Bradley Baker as Flotsam and Jetsam * Jim Hanks as Grimsby * Edie McClurg as Caroltta the maid * Pierce Gagnon as Harold the sea horse * Frank Welker as Max the Sheepdog and Glut the shark * Jim Cummings as Chef Louis * Sarah Drew as Aquata * Jessica DiCicco as Andrina * Mae Whitman as Arista * Tara Strong as Attina * Kate McKinnon as Adella * Nicole Sullivan as Alana Production Development It was announced in 2023 that Owen Laramore Entertainment would make computer-animated remakes of Bambi and The Little Mermaid. While Bambi ''began production the earliest, ''The Little Mermaid did not originally start production until the success of 2025's ''Hot Wheels''. Casting Jodi Benson reprised her original role of Ariel. Greg Cipes and Mr. T had already voiced cameos of Flounder and Sebastian in'' Disney In The House'' content. Chris Pine, Tiffany Haddish, and Bill Hader were revealed to have joined the cast as Eric, Ursula, and Scuttle. John Carroll Lynch entered talks to play King Triton. Music Alan Menken returned to compose the score and songs from the original film. Songs like "Part Of Your World", "Under The Sea", "Poor Unfortunate Souls", and "Kiss The Girl" were also included, performed by Benson, Mr. T, and Haddish. Reception Box office The film grossed $79 million in the United States and Canada, and $80 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $159 million. It was a box office success, based on its $53 million budget. Critical response The Little Mermaid holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus reads, "Owen Laramore Entertainment's version of The Little Mermaid lives up to the 1989 version in a heartwarming way". Metacritic signed the film to a score of 85 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a score of 89% and a 99% "definite recommend". Christopher Orr of The Atlantic was positive about the film, praising the quality of animation. He wrote, "Like 2023's The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid has a bunch of musical numbers that are original". Five stars were given to the film by Stephanie Zacharek of Salon, while Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times gave it "Two Thumbs Up". Zacharek wrote, "Jodi Benson's voice of Ariel in this film is as much of the most beautiful voice as she is in the original film". Roeper wrote, "The streak was nearly broken by Bambi, but has redeemed itself with the better The Little Mermaid".